Mickey, Part II

We’ve got other things in the inaugural auction. But we’re going to ease you in slowly with this fantastic autographed 1962 Topps special card of the subject of yesterday’s blog entry, Mickey Mantle.

Card #318 from that set illustrates the powerful left-handed swing of the switch-hitting Mantle; he hit 369 of his 536 home runs from the left side of the plate. Mantle’s 1962 season was stellar; he hit a whopping .321 with a .486 on base percentage. He walloped 30 home runs in 502 at bats and drove in 89 runs, winning the American League MVP and a Gold Glove to boot, leading the Yankees to a World Series victory over the San Francisco Giants (though Mantle hit just .120 in the Series, with no RBI).

Mantle carefully signed this card in bold, black marker across the three panels but underneath his image, with his famous signature remaining inside the borders of the card. The card itself is in decent shape as well, with four square corners and reasonable centering. 1962 Topps are known for chipping along the borders and this example is no different; but it’s not really the condition of the card we’re looking at here, is it?

Certified authentic by PSA/DNA, this signed 1962 Mantle will be featured in our October auction.